My mechanic tells me that, if I had sent the block to GE without the bearing caps(which I didn't), the pressure of sleeve installation could have distorted the main journals.
Does anybody know more about this? And aligh honing would fix this, right?

 

anybody?

 

You should always line hone a block that has been sleeved no matter what brand it is.

 

i never send in my mains with a block and i've never had a problem with main bearing alignment. You should always check your bearing clearances when assembling a motor, but usually they are fine.

 

You don't have to send them out, but when you get your block back, I suggest you to line bore it.

 

Thanks for the reply, guys.

The block/caps are at the machine shop as we speak waiting to get aligh honed.

 

Usually the main caps are in the way of the fixture that holds the block during a sleeve install. NEVER align hone a block that does not need it. That just messes with the geometry. I've never had to align hone a Benson or RS block. Larry at Endyn claims he align hones all his GE blocks. I've heard from several people who had to do their GE's.
Frankly most of us don't have the equipment to accurately measure if a block needs to be align honed. The poor man's way to check is to install your mains with oil, drop in the crank and torque your mains to spec. If the crank turns easily by hand, you are good to go. If crank is hard to turn over, better take your block to a pro.